Work At Home Dads: Don't Get Fat!

Updated on August 17, 2011

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An Unhealthy Day In The Life Of A Stay At Home Parent

You wake up. Get the kids up. Feed them. Get them ready for school and the house straightened out. Now, it's time to work. Your behind the computer, knocking out posts and putting words on the screen. Around noon your stomach is grumbling and your shaking from all the coffee you've had. You scarf down a quick snack, maybe a healthy wrap but most likely you don't have time for all that mess. Instead, you have half an Entenman's cinnamon roll cake because it' quick, easy and goes better with your coffee. You work the rest of the afternoon.

The end of the school day comes and the household turmoil begins again. Kids come home with stories. You help with homework or need to take them on errands and after-school activities. Maybe they want a snack. That's done.

Start dinner. The spouse comes home. They have stories, too. (You never really have your own stories, right?) Dinner is served. The kids are chillaxed. You spend some time watching a movie or television with the family.

Forgot: You didn't work out. You didn't run, walk, lift...nothing. In fact, you're more sedentary than the average jellyfish. And you know the worst part? You're beat. You feel like you ran around all day.

Failed: You ate llike crap! Asides from dinner, whch you made sure was healthy because the rest of the family needs it, you were terrible to yourself.

Remember Why You're Working From Home In The First Place

Most people start working from the house for two main reasons.

1. They want to spend more time with the family

2. They don't want to go through the "grind" of a usual 9-5

But, this is the way I see it...

What good is a work at home job if you're just going to keel over from a stroke or heart-attack in a couple of years because you didn't take care of yourself and make healthy choices when you needed to?

Spending more time with family includes being alive long enough to enjoy the time that you now have with them.

Tips To Stay Healthy For the Work At Home Parent

Force Yourself, not matter how busy, to eat well throughout the day.

You don't have to stop and make yourself a meal every time you're hungry. Bring healthy snacks to the desk. Nutrigrain bars, sandwiches, and almonds. Water, too! Don't forget to how important water is to a diet. Coffee is fine...drinking coffee all day is bad.

Take A Walk Mid-Day

This is less for fitness and health than it is for a break. You need a break! Just because you're not in meetings all day or turning wrenches doesn't mean you don't need a break. But, hey, a good brisk, 15 minute walk after lunch is great for your health too!

Schedule A Serioius Workout 3 Times Per Week

If you're not a person who regularly works out then try to start somethig small that you would consider an easy regimen. An additional walk in the afternoon or early evenings works great. As work at home parents many of us are glued to a "schedule" and I think it is an integral part of being successful at a home business and salary. So, here is a fix: Join a spin class or an aerobics class..take up "boxing aerobics", whatever. Just make sure you are signed up and committed to go. Then put it in your schedule! It will feel like a deadline and if there's one things that work at home parents obsess over it's deadlines!